Heartkiller
by ayngyl22
Summary: Two hearts were murdered, thus begins their plan. Will Bella and Edward have their hearts killed again?
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: **New story I'm working on. Posting first chapter to see how it goes. Am not giving up on Heroin Lullabies. Doing some figuring on the next chapter.

Thanks goes to beta adt216

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Chapter 1

"I'll send you a postcard burnt in the flames

you've tried so hard to extinguish with the fear of failing"

- "Heartkiller" HIM  
**BPOV**

My eyes opened five minutes before my alarm went off. Swallowing back the excess saliva that had pooled in my mouth during sleep, I reached over and pressed the off button on my alarm clock. The numbers six, four, and five glared in the muted gray light of the early morning that dully lit my bedroom. Lifelessly, I rolled over onto my back, bending my arm over my eyes, groaning at the thought that hammered through my brain- day forty-five.

It had now been forty-five days of hell-crying, loneliness, and an ache that thundered throughout everywhere in my life. Forty-five days ago, my heart was murdered. A dripping noise echoed from the bathroom, a leaking faucet. It was just another thing to add to my mile long to-do list. I gulped back the urge to cry as my throat tightened and my lips slightly quivered. Even though he wasn't here to see me cry, I still wouldn't give him the pleasure.

I didn't think I had anymore tears to cry, but my tear ducts betrayed me. I felt them filling my eyes, about to run over the brim. Gripping the top of the covers, I breathed in deeply, sucking snot back into my sinus cavities. His words ricocheted through me-"I don't love you. I never loved you. I only wanted one thing."

They rattled around in the dead silence, lingering like a song you don't like but wind up singing. Each word flashed like a road sign at night on the Interstate, constantly reminding me of the pain. Even though it seemed as if my heart was dead, the pain was evidence that it had healed itself after many heartbreaks. The heart was like an animated zombie-no matter how many times you shot at it, the damn thing kept on going.

But this murder, this one was the worse. He had been my best friend from childhood, so I had loved him as a friend and that love turned into romantic feelings. However, when I found those emails and learned he only wanted one thing, all bets were off.

I didn't want to think about any of this anymore. How did men keep doing this shit to women and have no consequences to face? I hated men, all men, but I could never see myself between another woman's legs. I had nothing against lesbians, but I loved cock. I just hated the bullshit attached to the appendage.

As I had been deep in my misery, the muted gray light had brightened. It was still gray and raining as per usual in the springtime in Pensacola, Florida. I had removed my arm from my eyes and laid staring at the red numbers of my clock. I had to start working on a new article that was due in two weeks.

As the clock now read seven, I inhaled deeply and blew the air out hard as I sat up and swung the covers back, letting my feet dangle just an inch or two above the floor. After scrubbing my face with the heels of my hands, I ran them through my hair, staring blankly at the end of my king sized bed. I barely registered the soft blue comforter and the blue flowered sheets.

Lady Gaga's 'Pokerface' jerked me from the mindless state, alerting me someone was calling. I looked at the screen and saw Alice's name. It wasn't good that she was calling this early.

"Alice, what's wrong?"

Bawling and screaming made the phone's speaker crackle from the high volume.

In between crying and gasps of air, Alice sputtered out what had happened.

"James...he...don't...I'm...not...the one...HE BROKE UP WITH ME!"

Fuck. As I sat with my arms resting on my bent knees, I listened to my friend spill out her heartbreak. The asshole told her she wasn't the one but that a girl he had only known for a month was. Anger quickly rampaged through me.

"Alice, I know the pain you're in. I'm still in it," I replied.

"Oh shit, Bella, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have called you and dumped all of this on you."

"Shut the fuck up. Who else would you have called?"

She sniffled and said, "True. Bella, why do men keep fucking us over?"

I sat there in silence until she had to scream my name. I had no answer to that question.

"I don't know, Small Fry. I wish I knew, but the shit isn't fair."

As we both sat in silence, each of us thinking about our current state, I made out a plan- a plan that would send a dagger through the heart of my victim. Men had to learn that they couldn't fuck us over and then get away with it. Thousands, millions of women went through this, while the men moved on to whatever tickled their fancy.

"Alice?"

"Yes, Bella."

"I have a plan."

"Whatever it is, I want in on it."

"We, as in you and me, need to teach men a lesson. That they cannot fuck us over and expect to get away with it," I said flatly.

"I should be mortified that you would even think something like that, but I can't see past the pain. I want in," Alice said without hesitating.

As we made plans on meeting after she left work this evening and said our goodbyes, all of the past dickheads started bubbling up- all the way to the very first one. Tyler Crowley.

HK-HK-HK

Huddling under the awning of the coffee shop, New Moon Java, I shook the rain residue from my closed umbrella. Luckily, the distance from my condo to the shop was only two buildings over, but I still managed to get partially soaked, mainly my shoes and socks.

I stood outside under the shop's covered table area, smoking, staring at the bottom of their sign- a steaming coffee mug over a crescent moon. As I drew the carcinogen into my lungs, memories of Tyler were still invading me. They hadn't left from when I hung up with Alice and had stayed during my morning ritual- thirty minutes of yoga, a simple, healthy breakfast, a shower, brushing my teeth, slathering on antiperspirant, and pulling my abundantly layered hair into a messy ponytail with shorter layers falling loosely around my face.

Grayish-white smoke streamed from my lips as I pushed a piece of black hair off my face while my mind locked on Tyler's face-those hazel eyes of blue and green, his thick, black hair that hung to his shoulders, and his warm, tan skin that was all a product of his Puerto Rican and Irish heritage. I recalled his thick lips lightly working their way up my chest to my neck while one of his hands slithered up my inner thigh.

Squeezing my eyes, I tried to erase that memory-my first time. My father was the police chief in the tiny, everybody knew your business, town of Forks, Washington. I went to live with Charlie after my mother became enamored with another man, a baseball player. It totally caught me off guard when they eloped. So, I moved from sunny Jacksonville, Florida to the cloudy, rainy Pacific Northwest.

So in that small town, I became big shit, the IT girl. I didn't want it, but I couldn't stop my popularity. Unfortunately, I made the mistake of telling a girl named Jessica, who would later become the crux of my second murder, at a party that I was a virgin. Unbeknownst to me, that tidbit flew around school, making me a hot commodity with the guys and the thorn in the side of girls.

Tyler was the beautiful one who played guitar, made perfect grades, volunteered his time with the elderly, and was the star baseball player at Forks High. I should have known something was wrong the day I walked into school and heard he had broken up with Maggie, the hot red head from Ireland, and when he walked up to me before class to start a conversation.

We dated for two months before he popped my cherry. Two days later, he broke up with me. I watched as he walked up to his group of friends, who handed him a jar full of cash. My virginity had been a bet. A bet to see how long it would be until I put out-apparently he won. He got the cash and my virtue. That was the first murder.

When I reached the end of my cigarette, I rubbed it against the brick of the shop and placed it in the ashtray. I bent down, gathered my umbrella and laptop case, and walked inside. Everyone knew me, so as I walked over to my corner booth that overlooked the bay, I heard a greeting of "Good morning, Bella."

Their friendliness made a half smile quickly push up, and then deflating just as fast. Before walking up to the counter, I took out my laptop and set it up, watching the rain blow across the uncovered back patio area. Waves out in the bay were white caps and violently crashed against a barge as it chugged through the rough waters. Once Windows was loaded and Word was open, I got up to order my caramel macchiato.

As I waited for the sweet coffee treat, I looked around, noticing new ad posters for a new discount card that was coming soon. The walls were a deep bark brown, like a tree soaked from rain. The floor tiles a toasty caramel, reminding me of crème brulee , and the tables, booths and chairs a blonde wood, the hue of sugar cookies. Everything was warm and inviting and made me think of food.

Peter, the shop's manager, pushed the hot cup my way and greeted me with a wide smile. His teeth were perfectly white, not stained from all the coffee.

"Bella, how are you this rainy morning?"

I shrugged and took a sip of the macchiato.

"Okay, I guess. I'm still breathing," I answered flatly, lifelessly.

His happy expression dropped instantly. He wringed his wrist, nodded his head and went back to preparing orders.

I heavily sighed, shaking my head, and walked back to my booth. Peter was nice and looked all-American with his plain brown hair and blue eyes and happy attitude. He was too nice and still lived with his mother at the age of thirty-three, having never moved out once.

My shoes were still squishy from getting water logged, so I pulled them and my socks off, placing them underneath the table. The cold air froze my wet feet, causing a shiver to travel up my body. Sitting down on the thick cushioned booth seat, I saw my IM had turned itself on and Alice had IMed me. I looked at the little clock in the lower right corner; the time was only eight-thirty. She wanted to go to the piano bar tonight.

I pulled my phone out and texted that it was okay. As I opened up my newest article, which was on sex and the mama's boy, I looked at Peter. He was a prime example. I shivered more, so I tucked my feet under my black yoga pants and wrapped my gray hoodie tighter around my body.

The article was half way done; I just had another three thousand words to go. For an hour, I typed nonstop, getting about fifteen hundred words before having to stop to rub my neck. The weather was making it stiff and sore. That fucking attorney and his car- he was the bane of my neck's existence.

After a few attempts at loosening the muscles, I finished the rest of my cold macchiato, noticing the music had switched to James Blunt. The song was "Goodbye My Lover" to be exact. If my heart wasn't already dead, I would have ripped it out and thrown it into the bay.

Peter reminded me of Mike Newton, my second murderer. He had been my first and only mama's boy. He was a wolf in sheepskin clothing.

I had known him for the two years I spent at Forks High, but he wasn't part of the "in crowd," so we only spoke if it pertained to a class we were in. I had left Forks a week after graduation and moved to Seattle so I could settle into my life there before college started. For my first two years there, I lived a very solitary life-got up, went to class, came home for a nap, went to work, and came home to work on assignments. There was no time for dates, or maybe I didn't allow the time.

It was the summer going into my junior year that Alice started working in the coffee shop where I worked part time. She was a transfer from Chicago who moved to Seattle with her family-her father got a job transfer. I had lived on my own since moving there two years prior, but the rent had gone up and I was having problems making ends meet. Alice offered to move in and we forged our bond from there.

While I had been popular in Forks, I was just another body at Seattle Pacific University, majoring in communications and journalism. Alice went to University of Washington, majoring in art history and design, but now manages a retail store, which she was successful at doing.

Most nights, I either worked or stayed home. Going to clubs, concerts, or anywhere else didn't appeal to me, as my trust in people was nonexistent. High school had ruined my urge to get emotionally close with anyone again. However, when Alice moved in, my life changed. It was one night out with her that I saw Mike, who was with a mixed group that also featured my old "friend" Jessica.

He didn't look the same. In fact, I almost didn't know it was him until he said my name while walking over to me. He had grown into his awkward face, his body has doubled in size, and his blond hair had darkened to a light brown. When he hugged me, his arms swallowed me. I had to slap him on the shoulder to get him to release me.

We talked for a few minutes until he invited Alice and me to sit in with the group. As we walked over, she whispered to me, asking how did I know him and if he had any siblings. Everyone in the group was nice, even Jessica. It wasn't until several weeks later that she started acting like my best friend.

Mike made extra space for me in his chair, and once I was sitting next to him, his right arm was around the back of the chair with his fingers barely grazing my shoulder. I sat stiffly next to him. This was new and another boy hadn't touched me since Tyler. As the night wore on, I relaxed as much as I could and found him to be sweet and caring.

Two nights later, we sat in a restaurant that overlooked the harbor, reminiscing, and getting caught up on our lives. He went to UW also and was going for sports medicine. After dinner, we walked along the harbor, holding hands, and having general conversation. We walked to a desolate area, enjoying the silence and watching the waves lap against the wall of concrete.

Several minutes went by and still we didn't talk. A breeze blew in off the sound, ruffling my hair and prickling my skin. Mike saw me rub my arms, so he wrapped his arms around me. I leaned into him, tilted my head up to him and he met my lips.

There was nothing earth shattering or mind-blowing about our relationship, but it was comfortable, warm, and sweet. Sexually, it felt good and was ordinary. He hardly did foreplay and never did oral sex. He was respectful, had great manners, and loved to sleep in on Sunday mornings. He was everything a normal girl would want. And I so desperately tried to be normal.

Almost a year into our relationship, Mike started acting weird-not answering my calls, canceling on plans, and hardly sleeping over anymore. It was a normal rainy Saturday and I had gotten off work two hours early, so I decided to go to Mike's apartment. I noticed his car parked in the lot, so I went up, slid my key in the door, and walked in on Jessica and him sprawled across the kitchen floor, as he licked cake frosting off her tit and plunged his dick into her.

I slid his key off my keychain and threw it, hitting Jessica in the face. Both heads popped up and saw me standing in the doorway with the door wide open. Mike got up, grabbed his dishtowel, and ran over to me. He gave the old line about how it wasn't how it looked. I told him to fuck off and to never call or see me again. I went through the tiny one bedroom collecting my shit. Before I left, I looked at Jessica and spat, landing in her open mouth.

That had been murder number two. The third and most recent murder was the bloodiest, like a shotgun blast to my chest.

Blinking back sprouting tears, I wiped them with the back of my hand while I stared out at the choppy bay water. Rich aroma of coffee entered with ease into my nose, comforting like a warm blanket fresh from the dryer. I looked back at my blinking cursor, and then I knew how I would finish my article-not all mama's boys stay good; they could easily change.

**EPOV**

The dreams always woke me up right after the violent slam of the front door. I had been dreaming the same dream for three weeks now. Ever since she left and slammed the door behind her. The last sight I saw before the slam was her long blonde hair swaying in time with each step of her black stilettos. Click Clack. Click Clack. That sound also reverberated in my dreams- her heels on the hardwood floors of my apartment.

I rolled my head over, picked up my cell, and saw it was five after ten in the morning. My arms flew up over my head, banging into the white wall, as all I had was the bed frame, box spring, and mattress. There was no need for a head or footboard. One of my four cats curled into my side, which happened to be Roxy, the black and white one.

Muted gray light coated my room. I turned my eyes towards the torrential downpour beating against the glass of my bare windows. I was high enough up in a condominium building that people couldn't see in, and there was no one across from me as my apartment faced the bay.

From the distance, I saw white caps on the waves, sloshing and crashing into one another as I scratched behind Roxy's ears. The water reminded me of her eyes-color and emotion. I was with her for six months; the last two, she fucked around on me. I didn't know until she walked in and said she was leaving me for someone else. Caius to be exact, Pensacola's local badass that played in a shitty rock band, Volterra.

With my hands pressed into the mattress, I pulled myself up and leaned against the wall, reaching over to get my pack of cigs from my nightstand. I lit the end, inhaled to get it going, and laid the pack and lighter back down as I blew smoke out. There was an empty wine bottle also sitting on the table, so I grabbed it, placing it between my legs- needing a place to flick my ashes. I sat smoking, staring out into the violent waters, and flicking ashes into the dark green bottle with my middle finger as I held the white cancer stick between my thumb and index finger. The memory of first seeing her rolled out of its door in my brain. Like an avalanche down a mountainside.

It had been Halloween night and everyone was dressed in costumes. I had dressed up as the crazy Phantom of the Opera and she walked in dressed as the devil- tight red PVC bodysuit and matching red horns on a headband, poking out from her honey blonde hair. Her eyes were blue- an angry ocean blue, her lips were full and her teeth were perfectly white. Her fake tits filled out the top of the bodysuit, almost exploding out.

As I played the piano and sang Monster Mash, my eyes stayed on her and other various places of her body. It was after she got her glass of wine, when she turned to face the stage, that she saw me. I smirked as I saw her breathing hitch, placing a delicate hand above her ballooned tit. She took one of the small pencils and pieces of paper and wrote down her request. Her friend walked it up to me, handing it to me with a soft touch that lingered a second or two longer.

She wanted "Fever" and her name was Lauren. Her request was two songs behind, the others being "Werewolf of London" and Type O Negative's "Black No. 1." When I sang the first few bars of her song, she sat her glass down, walked to my side of the stage, and started swaying her hips back and forth. By the end of the song, my cock was in pain and straining to be freed.

My break was right after the song. I grabbed her hand, led her out the back of the bar, and shoved her against the old brick building. I fucked her right there as the moon glowed brightly over us. I breathed my name into her ear right before she came the first time. My name wailed into the cool night air.

Quickly, I fell for her, hard. My heart skipped a beat each time I laid eyes on her and my love swelled more each time her body shook violently underneath mine. I wore the scratch marks on my back with pride. I should have known something wasn't right when I first noticed the lifeless look in her eyes as I made love to her and when her body didn't tremble or when her fingers only skimmed over my back. But I was so in love that I was blind until she walked in that morning and ripped my world apart.

Lauren was my third murderer. Tanya was my second, and she had murdered my heart only four months prior to meeting Lauren. Rosalie was my first, in everything-love, sex, and girlfriend.

Nothing ever happened in high school, as I was an introvert, only caring about my academics and music. Jasper, my brother by adoption, was Mr. Popular and loved girls. I tried kissing a few girls, but wound up only slobbering all over their faces or biting their tongues. I wasn't big on my appearance, even though I wasn't ugly; girls just thought I was weird. And I guess I was.

So, when I started college at University of Washington in Seattle, I saw Rosalie in my first class-Introduction to Music Theory and Musicianship. She played the cello and I the piano and guitar. She sat down next to me and eyed me from the side. My hair back then was wayward, unlike now- longer, unkempt, and slightly curling under at the ends. My face was smooth back then, now I kept a constant five o'clock shadow.

Rosalie was like a goddess-long blonde hair, legs for days, full natural tits, and a pout luscious enough to bring a man to his knees and weep. Of course, she wound up being a model, and she wanted me. She handed me a piece of paper at the end of class, telling me to meet her at her apartment across from the school. She fed me and got me drunk- then proceeded to give me head. A month later, after a month of heavy groping and manual stimulations, I stretched her out under the soft rain, devoured a tight nipple, parted her legs, and slowly entered her, groaning against the full, soft breast.

That day, afterwards, in the gentle rain, I fell in love with her. Her soft whimpers, low moans, and lust filled screams became second nature to me. She taught me how to manipulate a woman's body. I thought I didn't have anything to teach her, but she said I taught her how to love. We were each other's world for two years…until she met some European model that had turned into a rock star. She quit college…and she quit me.

For the next three years after Rose, I dated and fucked, never deeply committing. A year after graduating with a degree in music, I got a call one day. Jasper said he had a job offer at community college in Pensacola, Florida to teach history. Since there wasn't shit for me in Seattle, I moved with him. A month after being there, I met Tanya, a breathtaking redhead that waited tables while going to college.

I met her when Jasper and I went to eat at a local pizza place called Ozone Pizza. Her eyes of green with gold flecks twinkled and her smile was sweet. We flirted throughout the course of the meal when she would refill our drinks. Jasper left to go home, leaving me at the table while I waited for her to get off work.

Tanya drove me home and we sat in the parking lot of the condominium building that my parents just bought. She had a little, red convertible Bug and as we talked and looked out into the inky waters of the bay, she rolled the top down and the light, summer breeze ruffled our hair. I made the first move as I reached my arm around the back of her seat, leaned over, and grazed her lips. She deepened it, making me moan into her mouth.

After four months of dating, I asked her to move in with me. She agreed. There were only a few months left until she graduated, so she started looking for a photography job. She landed one- photographing at Sears. We were happy.

I took a job at the piano bar working nights. It was fucking great and still was a great job. But Tanya had a spending problem. It started to become troublesome when she couldn't pay her student loans, and she would open up credit card accounts to pay the loans, only creating more debt.

I helped when I could, but I had my own debts. My parents only paid for half of my college education, leaving me to pay for the rest. They bought the building Jasper and I lived in, got two thousand dollars a month (an inheritance from my birth parents) that paid the bills, but the rest was up to me.

A year after getting the job at Sears, she found another one working for the newspaper. It paid more, but she still lived outside our means. She never understood why I just didn't live off my parents.

There was the constant want of jewelry, clothes, spa dates, vacations, and of a black Hummer. Tanya hated my job at the piano bar and started to nag about it after six months of me working there. I came home one night to find her suitcases and bags by the door as she sat on the couch. The couch she picked out and bought using the money I got once a month.

She got up, walked up to me, kissed my lips harshly, and pulled away, staring into my eyes. I looked at her, confused. Her tongue swiped over her lower lip before she told me that she got tired of me going nowhere with my music career and of me not ever having enough money.

Tears stung my eyes as pain tore through my heart and crushed my lungs. She kissed my cheek one last time, moved around me, and collected the last of her belongings. I stood in place, stunned, tears falling down my face.

I called Jasper and we went down to the hole in the wall bar. That night started my three-month long stretch of drinking. I had only been completely sober for a month when I met Lauren.

As I dropped the last of the cigarette to the bottom of the wine bottle, I caught the sight of one of the local magazines-Pensacola Underground- it was the only local magazine I read. I looked at the date, seeing it was from the previous month. Placing the wine bottle back on the side table, I grabbed the magazine as it randomly opened up to the sex column called "Sex with Bells." The writer only used her initials-B.S. Luckily, her column was never bullshit. Last months topic had been people sending in their mishaps with anal sex and she would comment underneath on them. Whoever the girl was, she was funny and sarcastic.

Rhythmic thuds down my hallway alerted me to Jasper making his way to my room. I threw the magazine on the floor next to my bed, scrubbed my face with my hands, and flung the sheet off me. I had just gotten up when he opened my door, walking in wearing khaki cargo shorts, a Kings of Leon shirt, and my three other cats, Mona, Paula, and Josephine, rubbing against his legs. His heavy footsteps had been more pronounced because of the heavy boots he wore.

"Edward, are you just waking up?" he asked as he leaned against the doorjamb. I noticed his long, wavy blond hair was pulled back in a ponytail.

"Yeah. Why are you here so early? Shouldn't you be in class?" I answered, pulling on a pair of tattered jeans and buttoning them.

"Class let out early today. I thought you would want to go over songs for tonight," he stated, scratching his chin.

I nodded, saying I wanted lunch before we started.

"Good idea. Let's go down Davis Highway and hit one of the sushi places."

I gave a thumbs up as I finished pulling on a plain white t-shirt.

HK-HK-HK

Of course, Jasper would pick Ichiban. I sighed, rubbing my forehead and biting my lip. It was the last place Lauren and I had eaten at together. They seated us quickly and we ordered two beers and two sampler plates. Jasper rambled about giving a test next week on the Civil War, a topic I found boring. I nodded and gave small replies when needed, but otherwise my mind was thinking of something- a plan.

Jasper stopped, looked at me, and waved his hand in front of my face.

"Bro, hello…are you here with me?"

I blinked, nodded, and started smirking. He had also been through a bad breakup a few months ago. He would understand, hopefully.

"Jas, I have a plan."

He quirked an eyebrow and waited for me to go on.

"I was just thinking that it's bullshit that the three girls that have left me got to carry on with their lives, while they left me broken and in pain. That girl you were with last, left you for some rich doctor. The shit isn't right. Why should they continue as if nothing ever happened while we are left to try and pick ourselves back up?

"I think we should find some girls, make them fall for us, and then rip apart their fucking hearts. Women act as if they are superior to men. As if we are toys they just can play with and then put down when they get bored. I say tonight that we try to find some girls. What do you say?"

Jasper stared at me as if I had grown two heads and a third eye. After several minutes, he shook his head, put a roll in his mouth, and looked back at me. Once the food was swallowed and the sip of beer gone, he started to talk to me.

"Look, Edward, I understand your hatred. Honestly, I do, but I don't think it is right to find some girl to purposely hurt."

"Jasper, I really don't give a fuck if you think it's right. I thought of all people you would agree with me," I seethed hoarsely.

He sighed and continued.

"Look, do what you want, but I won't do it. I'll already feel like a dick for letting you do this, but I understand how you feel. Just don't come belly-aching to me when you get your balls handed to you, either from her kneeing you when she finds out your plan or by you falling in love."

I scoffed at the idea of falling in love, again.

We dropped the subject and somewhat still enjoyed lunch. The afternoon was spent with us going over various songs to play tonight. Jasper and I were dueling pianists at the piano bar. He left at five so he could go home, shower, and get dressed. I showered, ran my fingers through my wet hair, and dressed in black pants and a white button down shirt. After a final smoke, I grabbed the keys to my Volvo Coupe C70, a gift from this past Christmas. It was silver and fully loaded, the only excess my parents fully gave me.

I was at the club, Rosie O'Grady's, at seven. Jasper was already at his piano warming up. As I walked by, he waved and carried on singing and playing. Once in the back, I put my keys and cell in my locker. I took out some cash and put my wallet in the locker as well.

As I sat at my piano, opposite Jasper, I saw the bar beginning to fill. Most were older couples and the requests were starting to come in. We played three songs-"Benny and the Jets," "Greats Balls of Fire," and "Piano Man." Jasper sang a request for "Devil Went Down to Georgia" with me dueling him. The crowd was cheering and clapping. We had the room divided, half for him and half for me.

When I looked at my watch, I saw we had been playing for two hours. As we started our last song before leaving for our break, I spotted her as she walked in. Her hair was just past her shoulders and heavy with layers. Her eyes were dark, what color I couldn't tell. She wore a short, tattered skirt that looked to be denim with fraying at the edge. A tight, gray tank that had a plunging neckline, displaying her high, natural tits completed her attire.

She was it. As I watched her during the song, she talked to her tiny, short friend who had black, choppy chin length hair. Jasper looked at me and I nodded in the girl's direction. He turned sideways and I saw his eyes get big. He met me with a smirk, nodding.

We finished the song, thanked the crowd, and went on our thirty-minute break. Jasper met up with me as we descended the stage, nudging me with his hand. I leaned in.

"I found her-the girl with the short skirt and tight, gray tank."

He nodded.

"While I'm not doing this with you, I do think the tiny one with the short hair is cute."

He left for the restroom while I walked up to the bar, standing beside her. I raked my fingers through my disheveled hair, feeling the curl at the bottom tickle my neck. Laurent, the bartender, gave me a Corona, twisting off the top before handing it to me. I stood behind the girl, eyeing her up and down. She looked amazing-long, firm legs, high, round breasts and natural as I knew they would be. Her lips were a blood red and her skin was white and smooth as porcelain. Her eyes were a brown, what shade I didn't know as the lighting was dim in the bar.

She turned around, tucking her hair behind her ear, and biting the inside of her cheek as she measured me like she had caught me doing to her. When her eyes found mine, I stuck out my hand.

"Hi, I'm Edward," I said, smiling playfully.

She took at sip of her wine, licking the residue from her lips, making my cock twitch in my pants, and leaned against the bar facing me.

"I'm Bella," she introduced herself, raising her voice over the crowded bar.

I nodded, smirking as I chugged my beer. In that moment, I knew one of us would burn, just had to make sure it wasn't me.


	2. Chapter 2

**a/n**: Here's chapter 2. So far this story has been fun to write. Thanks goes to my beta adt216.

* * *

Chapter 2

"Flatliner for a Heartkiller,"

-Heartkiller, HIM

**BPOV**

By late afternoon, the rain had decreased to a drizzle, and the weatherman forecasted it to end by nightfall. The humidity was bad enough without the added benefit of rain. The time at the coffee shop proved to be valuable as I finished my article for the next magazine issue of _Pensacola Underground_. Once I proofread what I could, I sent it to Aro, my boss and_ Underground's_ editor. Twenty minutes later, he said the article was one of the best I'd ever written. For a job well done, I ordered another macchiato and a cream cheese danish.

Now I sat on the balcony of my condo, overlooking the harbor, and watched the slate gray water slap against the boats as I drank a mug of green tea with honey. My feet slid under my ass when I curled into the corner of the cushioned patio settee of green and blue sea glass and sun-kissed wheat hues. It had been a gift from Charlie when I first bought the condo. Other than my bed, it was my favorite place to vegetate.

Apocalyptica played lowly in the background from the iPod dock, filtering out onto the balcony from the open sliding door. The low rumbles of the cellos were soothing, even though the tone of the song made me think of…him. I pinched my forehead together as I closed my eyes and willed his face from my mind. I didn't need him poisoning my night.

Noticing the sun hanging low in the sky, I checked the time on my phone and saw Alice was fifteen minutes late. She had our Chinese food, and my stomach had started to grumble. I sent her a text asking what the hold up was, dropped the phone on the cushion beside me, and took another sip of the green tea. A few seconds later, the phone beeped with Alice saying she was turning into the parking lot of my residence.

Quickly deleting the text, I got up from the settee, finished the last sips of the tea, and walked through my living room to unlock my door. My living room was an extension of my patio with varying shades of blue, green, soft creams and golds. The sofa was a deep teal with throw pillows of emerald and deep gold. The carpet was a cerulean blue with the walls painted an off white. Pieces of abalone shell hung on my walls or sat on tables and bookshelves of blonde wood. Photos of my mother and father were gathered on the mantle over the fireplace amongst the photos of Alice and me or other friends from college and co-workers.

Just as I was getting the dinnerware out, Alice burst through the door with her arms full of the little white takeout boxes and shopping bags.

"Um, Al, what is up with all the shopping bags?" I asked, setting the plates down on the light gray tiled counter.

She huffed and puffed setting the boxes and bags down as though she had a fought a battle and had lost. I took the white boxes, opening them to find sweet and sour chicken, egg-fried rice, lo mein with tofu, sweet and sour sauce, and fortune cookies. I still waited for her answer as she slowly eased her breathing.

Quickly catching her breath back, Alice took the plate I offered and began telling me how her store started a massive sale. While she was on her lunch break, she rummaged through the racks and shelves to find us new outfits for tonight. She was to wear black skinny jeans with a zebra print halter top with matching black and white wedges while I had a short, frayed denim skirt with a tight, gray, deep scoop neck tank paired with black, strappy sandals with a kitten heel. With that description, I couldn't say no to her. It beat standing in my closet trying to decide what to wear.

Alice hopped up on my kitchen counter and started digging into the fried rice, asking how the article went.

"Aro said it was one of my best. Seeing Peter at the coffee shop today urged me to finish it."

"Oh, Peter. He's so nice to the point of being too nice. I think the poor thing hasn't ever had a real girl and probably beats off to the girls in his mother's JC Penney catalog. Mmm, Bella, you need to eat the fried rice. It's so good."

Thanks to Small Fry, I had a mental image of Peter sitting on the shitter with the JC Penney catalog open to the bra and panty section while rapidly pumping his cock. The next time I saw him was going to be hard for me to not burst out in laughter.

"Al, I'm sure the fried rice tastes just like any other fried rice I've had in the past. I was thinking we could hit up the piano bar at Seville Quarter tonight. Your thoughts on that?"

She fought with noodles on her fork before easing them into her mouth. As she chewed, her hand pointed to one of the bottled waters I had out next to the fridge. Chasing the food down and closing the bottle, Alice said the piano bar was fine. I told her I wanted to be there a little after nine, which gave us only an hour and a half to finish eating and get dressed.

HK-HK-HK

We arrived at the bar a quarter past nine and the place was already jammed pack. The two pianists had the crowd in an uproar. The one closest to me caught my eye for an instant. My first thought was that his long hair that curled at the end looked darling on him. But Alice jerked my arm in her route to the bar, breaking my thorough examination of the pianist. As we made our way through the crowd, it felt as if I was being watched, but when I turned to look, there was no one looking at me.

Alice ordered our drinks, with which I had no problem since she knew what I liked. She ordered some fruity concoction and got me a glass of Shiraz. Slowly, I nursed the wine, scoping out the room of people while trying to listen to Alice over the two, cute dueling pianists. The one I had noticed when I first walked in pinged on my radar as the one I would try to reel in for my plan, if he didn't have a girlfriend or wife.

Alice drew me into a conversation about a new sales guy at a cellphone kiosk outside her store. She found out his name was Marcus and he was from a small town in Italy. Apparently that was all she could get out of him because according to her he seemed shy and was trying to appear busy so he didn't have to talk to her. I told her they were both at work, and that he most likely was busy. She scoffed at the idea and went back to sipping her red, fruity drink.

She nudged me and asked if I had started scoping out possible contenders. I nodded, leaning in to tell her who it was, but stopping when I had the feeling of being watched again. This time when I turned around, there was a person there. It caught me by surprise because it was the pianist I had eyed. And his eyes were roaming all over, so I returned the favor.

Tucking my hair behind my ear, I started chewing the inside of my cheek as my eyes roved over him. He was tall, slim, muscular build, casually dressed in a white, button down shirt and black pants. When I reached his eyes, his hand shot forth as he introduced himself as Edward with cute, smirking lips. I had to take a sip of my wine to try to hide the fact that I liked what I saw, except as usual I betrayed myself. My tongue licked away the residue from my lips. I leaned against the bar to try to regain my composure as I faced him.

"I'm Bella," I shouted over the noise of the bar.

He nodded, giving me another cute smile as he chased down his beer. Small Fry jumped in between us, introducing herself. Edward quickly acknowledged her so he didn't appear rude, but quickly brought his attention back to me. She took immediate note of that and excused herself. I tore my eyes from him for a second to make sure my friend wasn't bothered. As the coast was clear, I turned back to Edward.

He was perched on the stool next to me, patiently waiting for us to begin a conversation. I spoke first.

"So how do you like doing the dueling piano thing?"

He shrugged and said it paid the bills.

"But honestly, I love it. For the time being, I can't imagine myself doing anything else. How 'bout you? What do you do to pay the bills?"

"I'm a writer. And I thoroughly enjoy my job as well. Are you from the Pensacola area?" I asked, taking another sip of my wine.

Edward situated himself better on the stool, propping his elbow on the bar. Taking another sip from his beer, he told me he wasn't.

"Actually, I'm from Seattle. Went to University of Washington there, too. How about you? Are you a P'cola native?" he asked, noting a deep interest in my answer as his eyes never left my face or eyes. So far, he was proving to be a great listener.

"Um, no. I'm from Forks, Washington. Do you know where that's at?"

"I think I do. Isn't it like three hours west of Seattle?"

"Yes, it is. I also went to UW in Seattle. What was your degree? If you don't mind me asking."

"Music. I wanted to try to teach autistic children piano, which you can see didn't happen. How about you? Was it creative writing, English, or journalism?"

The moment felt comfortable, nothing felt forced, which was good. The smoothness would make my plan easier to execute.

"Well, you got half of it right. The program was communications and journalism. So, how did you wind up in Pensacola, Florida?"

"Did you see the other piano player?"

"Yes, I did," I answered.

"He's my brother. He, ah, got a job offer to teach at the community college here. The one that recently was turned into a state university. He asked if I wanted to move with him since he knew I had nothing in Seattle. I said yes and here I am. How about you?"

The subject of my moving here was like an ice pick through my head. He had been part of the plan. Our life and future was supposed to have been planted and bloomed here. Closing my eyes, trying to remove the memories, I told him that years ago my mom and I used to vacation here when we lived in Jacksonville.

"And then my best friend, Alice, the little Small Fry that you saw earlier, got a job promotion here at one of the retail stores in Cordova Mall. I saw and heard how much she loved it here, and I started missing the town so I went online looking for job openings here. I applied for one opening for a local magazine and I got it. A month later, here I was."

Edward tapped his fingers atop the bar, sipped his beer as he looked afar over my head, as if he was in deep thought about something. The silence between us wasn't odd. He was in his thoughts and I was lost in mine, although I wished I wasn't. For as much as I enjoyed talking with him and knew he was perfect for my plan, it felt insanely odd to be talking to another man. I would have to shove the unfamiliarity aside.

Something grazed my arm, jerking me to reality, I saw it was his finger. I fixed my eyes back to his gaze, waiting for what he had to say.

"Listen, my brother and I have to get back up there on stage. Will you and your friend stick around? I would really like to talk to you some more after I get off. That's if you don't have to get up too early in the morning."

"Um, I set my own hours. I'm sure Alice is off tomorrow. How about your brother?"

"That I'm not sure about. Let me talk with him and we'll see what happens."

"Okay, I'm game…even if they aren't."

I threw that out there at him, knowing he wouldn't refuse the bait.

"Awesome. Either way, it sounds somewhat like a date afterwards."

"Sure thing."

Edward flashed me another one of his playful smiles, finished his beer, and sauntered back to his piano. It wasn't long after he left that Alice shuffled back to me, taking roost on the same stool Edward had just occupied. When I looked at her face, it scared me. She looked maniacal. If she smiled any harder and wider, her face would crack like an egg, spilling out her brains.

"Small Fry, your face is looking really fucking creepy. What caused that to happen?"

She was so damn excited that her little body vibrated and jittered. This was scaring me even more. I started rolling my index finger to signal for her to get to talking. After a minute or two, she finally squeaked out a response.

"Ballsy, I met the most gorgeous, intriguing creature I've ever met. If it hadn't seemed psychoish, I would have torn my shoes off and yanked my panties and pants down and asked him to fuck me against the wall in front of everyone. He had cute little dimples at the corners of his smile and twinkling, pretty baby blue eyes. And his blond curly hair looked thick and soft," she prattled and gushed.

Looking around trying to find a guy who fit that description, I glazed over Edward and hit a bull's-eye on his brother. He hit every check mark on Alice's list. The little shit was crushing hard on my project's brother. If this didn't fall easier into place, I would kick myself. Although, her immediate gushing had me worried that she wouldn't go along with our plan.

"Alice, can you dial down your excitement a notch or three? Please keep focused on our goal. Don't let dimples and baby blues get in the way. Remember your call to me earlier this morning."

With my little speech, she deflated faster than a popped balloon. It looked as if she tried to sneak in a middle finger salute. I decided that even if she doesn't follow through, I sure the fuck was. This was more my revenge than hers.

HK-HK-HK

As the night wore on, more and more patrons left until Small Fry and I were the only ones left other than the bar employees and Edward and his brother. During the passing hours, I had caught her grinning and giving a mini wave to Curls up there on the stage. Her display was puke and eye-roll worthy. Instead, I knew I had to keep my game face and time my reactions to Edward's acknowledgement of me. My reactions of smiling and clapping at the right time. There had been a moment when I tried to think of a request, except everything I came up with, they wouldn't know.

When the last couple of people left, Edward and his brother counted their tips, and walked over to Alice and me.

"Hey, girls, Jas and I are going to get our shit from our lockers in the back. Will you stay?" Edward asked with eyebrows raised and a smile playing on his lips, looking almost hopeful.

"Sure, I don't have to be to work until two," Alice replied, already knowing I had no qualms about staying.

"Good," Edward and Jas said back in unison.

When the boys went to the back, Alice turned to me, grabbing my arm and making a high-pitched squeal that only a dog should be able to hear. She soon followed with hopping in place.

"Al, they are going to be perfect for our plan. Don't you agree?"

She stopped hopping and sighed deeply.

"Yeah…sure," she dryly replied, pretending to be interested in her nails.

After that, neither of us said a word as we waited for the guys to come back. I was scrolling through my email, with Alice drumming her fingernails on the bar, when Edward and Jas walked back out, both greeting us with smiles. Jas went to greet Alice when her stomach grumbled loudly, making her little face turn a bit pink.

"I guess the Chinese food wore off. How about we go to Denny's?"

The three of us had no issues with it. The Moon Over My Hammy sounded extremely good. Small Fry and I had ridden together in my little blue Volkswagen bug. Alice asked the guys about theirs.

"We came in our cars. Jasper lives further in town while I live in downtown Pensacola," Edward answered. Another positive ping went off in my mind - we both lived in downtown.

We walked out together to our cars, I made quick note on Edward's silver Volvo sports car. Alice eyed Jasper's gray Toyota Camry. The two different cars said so much about the brothers. Edward was the cool, hip musician and Jasper was non-flashy, practical.

"Girls, can we get going? Lil' Bit over there isn't the only one who's hungry," Jasper alerted us. Edward agreed, staring at me. I met his stare and said, "Let's get going then."

Edward was the first to exit the parking lot with me behind and Jasper taking up the rear. As Edward weaved through the streets of downtown, heading to the Interstate, Alice was quiet as I rambled on, finding Edward to be nice and easy to look at. She simply smiled and nodded. I was losing her, but I hoped I was wrong.

Hitting the on ramp of I-110, Edward took off at rapid acceleration, forcing the rest of us to rev up our engines to play catch up. Jasper wound up passing us. Men and their need to show off for girls most of the time didn't work. Alice giggled and rolled her eyes, with me copying her.

"So, Ballsy, how are you feeling about your plan after meeting Edward?"

I looked quickly over at her and huffed. Nothing was going to make me lose sight.

"Alice, he hasn't changed my mind. Besides, I just met him." She shrugged her shoulders and went on to providing small talk until we exited off onto Davis Highway, with Denny's not far from the exit. The parking lot wasn't full as it was almost two-thirty in the morning.

Both guys were out before us as we gathered our purses and checked ourselves in the mirror. Luckily, neither Alice or I looked like a bag of smashed assholes. Now that we were in the Denny's parking lot, my stomach began to rumble and my ass and hips were making extra room for the Moon Over My Hammy.

"Small Fry, let's go get some late night greasy food."

We high-fived each other as we opened our doors as we were met with jokes from Edward.

"So, were you girls in there congratulating one another for the fine men you picked up?"

"Please tell me you have better jokes than that?" I asked back.

"Unfortunately, he doesn't. Telling jokes isn't his forte," Jasper replied, punching his brother in the shoulder.

"Come on, let's get some food. I think we're all starving," I laughed.

We were seated in a booth facing the parking lot and we all got a round of coffee. Alice ordered the Ulimate Grand Slam, I got my Moons Over My Hammy, Edward got a stack of pancakes, and Jasper ordered a spinach and mushroom omelet. We found out Jasper was a history teacher at Pensacola State College with a great love for the Civil War. Edward talked little, as did I. We listened mostly to Jasper and Alice babble on and on.

When the food was brought out, all speaking ceased. I may have moaned like a whore in the middle of deep, animalistic passion when my taste buds encountered the Moon Over My Hammy. It caused Edward to half choke on his mouthful of pancakes. Jasper laughed and Alice just rolled her eyes at me.

"Small Fry, I don't know why the fuck you're rolling your eyes. You have a whole feast over there big enough for a grown man or two. How do you eat like that and stay so tiny?" I snapped, taking in another bite of ham and egg.

"Ballsy, I'm just blessed with good genes. How's your Hammy Moon?" she chirped, smiling while taking a piece of bacon.

Edward spit out his coffee and started fully laughing.

"What's tickled your nuts?" I said in reply.

Trying to catch his breath, he slowly sputtered out Alice's nickname for me. She answered for him as to why she calls me that.

"She knows how to juggle," Alice matter-of-factly spoke, and then went back to eating her eggs.

Before taking another bite of pancakes, Edward grinned at me and asked, "Maybe you can show me how you juggle balls?"

I rolled my eyes and finished my Hammy before it got cold. Jasper and Alice went back to their conversation while Edward and I remained silent, only giving one another side-glances. When the waitress brought the check, we split it four ways.

As we walked out, I noticed we were the last customers and the parking lot was vacant. Alice glanced at me and winked, motioning she was going over to Jasper's car. Edward was strayed behind me, rapidly striking his lighter but only getting sparks. I felt pity.

"Here," I said as I ignited the flame from my lighter.

"Thanks. That piece of shit was getting harder to light. So, can I have your number for our next date?" he asked, blowing smoke out the corner of his mouth.

I took out a cigarette from my pack, lit it, took a deep drag and blew out the smoke. After a few minutes, I nodded and motioned for him to follow me over to my car. Edward leaned against my car as I double clicked the fob to unlock the car. I had a backpack in the backseat and it took me no time to find a notepad. Scrawling my name and number on the piece of torn corner paper, I turned around, reaching the piece of paper over to him.

"I was hoping for a bigger piece of paper so I could write mine down for you," Edward said, holding the cigarette in the corner of his mouth, taking the paper from my fingers.

"I can input the number in my phone. What are they?" I asked, taking my phone out of my purse.

He spoke the number and I typed them in. I blew smoke from my lips, holding the white stick between my fingers.

"Now that we have exchanged numbers I want to tell you that I'm not the kind of girl who sits by her phone waiting for a phone call. You call me when you're ready for whatever, but do not use my number expecting me to be a booty call. I don't play that way."

"I'm not after a random booty call. And I didn't for one second think you would wait by your phone for my call. Didn't seem like the type. I'll call you in a few days to set up the next date," Edward responded.

I told him that would be fine as I looked over at Jasper and Alice. She had her arms around his neck, engaged in a hug. They pulled apart, smiling, as she moved to walk back over to my car.

"Well, I guess we should get going. I'm full and getting sleepy. I look forward to your call, Edward."

He agreed and said goodbye to Alice as she neared us. I said bye to him and as I watched him leave, with his back to me, I knew he would be a flatliner. Alice yawned and got into my car, begging for us to go. I complied and got in the car. As we left the parking lot and turned left onto Davis Highway, I saw the two brothers talking and smiling.

**EPOV**

As I walked away from Bella, smiling, I knew she would be a flatliner. And my brother was already deeply smitten.


End file.
